The other “Bukele effect”: international tourism boom in El Salvador

In 2024, foreign visitor arrivals grow 22%. This is largely due to the government’s controversial measures that reduced insecurity.

More than 2.3 million international visitors made tourism in El Salvador between January and July 2024, which is 22% more than in 2023, reported the Central American country’s Ministry of Tourism.

This result makes El Salvador the country with the highest tourism growth in the entire region, which in large part can be considered the result of the controversial security plan implemented by President Nayib Bukele, which involved the detention of almost 80,000 people under an “exception regime”, allegedly for being part of gangs that sowed terror and insecurity throughout the country.

Although this policy was rejected by human rights organizations for including an “exception regime” that suppresses citizens’ rights, the truth is that Bukele’s crusade ended the gangs’ dominance and significantly reduced the country’s homicide rate, from 106 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 2.4 in 2023, a figure below the world average.

As a result, many people went back to walking around the cities at night, and parks and squares were once again filled with children playing, a scene that was not usual, especially after certain hours of the day.

And now comes another effect, which is the increase in tourism. Those 2.3 million visitors who arrived so far this year represent 56% of the four million expected for 2024, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

More foreign currency

International tourists injected at least 2,223 million dollars in foreign currency income, informed the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez, who considered that this is a “record” figure for the country.

The beaches, she explained, continue to be the most visited by international tourists, while in second place is the historic center of San Salvador.

The tourism sector in 2023 represented 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and remains a pillar of the Salvadoran economy, Valdez said.

During all of last year, tourism contributed 3,664.7 million to the GDP, and by the end of 2023 the sector employed at least 67,333 people.

In the last 11 years, the country received more than 17,460.4 million in foreign exchange income from tourism.

Beaches, volcanoes, Mayan ruins

As highlighted by the Minister of Tourism, the beaches on the Pacific and surfing are the main magnet for tourists coming to El Salvador. Surfers in particular visit La Libertad beach for its famous waves and for hosting international competitions.

Another great attraction is hiking on the slopes of volcanoes, especially the Santa Ana, in the Cerro Verde National Park -the highest in the country, with 2,381 meters-, where there are trails of varying difficulty, and El Boquerón, located in the National Park of the same name, near the capital, San Salvador.

Mayan ruins also enchant visitors, especially in Joya de Cerén, known as “the Pompeii of the Americas”, and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being the ruins of an ancient agricultural community.

The other major archaeological site is San Andrés, with its characteristic pyramids, which shows the life of the original inhabitants of Central America in an area of about 3 km2 in the Zapotitlán valley.

Another attraction are the handicrafts, since many small towns in the country -such as Suchitoto or La Palma- are famous for their typical handicrafts.

Source: Clarín